#6: January 29, 1999
“That’s not flying…
that’s falling, with style.”
The words come from
Woody the Cowboy, hero of the animated film Toy Story. He’s describing spaceman
Buzz Lightyear’s elaborate leap from tabletop to floor. But Woody could just as
well been describing the progress of industrial civilization. We believe we
soar, as our technology appears to have given us complete power over nature.
But just as the law of gravity caught up with Buzz, the laws of the biosphere
will catch up with us. For we cannot survive by consuming that which sustains
us.
Woody’s alarm, “Somebody
poisoned the waterhole!” is apropos. Each day, our collective actions destroy
an alarming proportion of the topsoil that grows our food, of the ozone layer
that shields us from cancerous and mutagenic solar radiation, of the green
plants that allow us to breathe. We pump more climate-changing chemicals into
the air, and our use of chemical biocides creates new strains of resistant
superpests.
Our institutions are
dysfunctional, too. Large and growing parts of our economy--the military and
prison industrial complexes-- depend in part on the injustices that nourish
crime, terrorism, and war. The “gross domestic product,” our measure of
economic progress, values a dollar spent marketing Joe Camel cigarettes equal
to a dollar spent on organic produce, and gives no value to volunteerism. In
its explosive growth, relentlessly overrunning natural systems, our
civilization displays the behavior of a cancer cell.
My Dad used to say “It’s
not the fall that kills you, it’s the sudden stop.” Whether it’s a nuclear
winter or a super plague, or a less sudden degeneration of our life support
system, the end of our civilization, or of humanity, would be a but a short
“thump” in the life of the earth.
It’s not easy to face
this demise, but eventually we must. We can only choose when, and how. One
choice is to live in numb denial, and look out after only our immediate, narrow
interests. We can shrug, and say “You can’t stop progress,” or laugh nervously
about enjoying the ride while it lasts. When we do this, we are dead weight in
the freefall.
The other choice is
harder, but more rewarding, and offers our only hope. First, we must realize,
in the words of the Buddha, that “the greatest illusion is that of a separate
existence.” This illusion holds us back from our potential, not just to save
our life, but to continue the adventure of human and global evolution. Our
“awakening” involves first connecting with the world, exposing ourselves to the
power of all its suffering and joy, its desperation and hope. This means
devoting more time to learning about the world’s problems and, especially
important, how we are linked to them.
After awareness comes
action. Take Gandhi’s advice, and “become the change you wish to see in the
world.” If you want humans to stick around, examine the way you live on the
earth, and how you can leave it better than when you arrived. Get yourself and
your family closer to nature, through hiking or gardening. Invest in and use
technology (like electric bicycles) that improves your life without leaving a
mess in its wake.
Follow the Bible’s
admonition to “love they neighbor as thyself,” knowing that technology has made
all living creatures your neighbor. If you want peace, be peaceful, not just in
the way you treat others face to face, but in where you invest your retirement
account, or for whom you vote. Contribute time and money to organizations
working on the root causes of war and violence (both domestic and
international), and write letters to your representatives and newspapers.
We’re falling, but not
without hope. Worldwide, including here in our community, many people work to
pull humanity out of its nosedive, to create a sustainable culture, to make
“progress as is if survival mattered.” I will continue to write about them, and
invite everyone to help design, build, and test the wings that will give us
flight. In the words of Buzz Lightyear, “to infinity, and beyond!”